Wellington film and TV company Pukeko Pictures has a new project, an adult comedy fantasy adventure series starring an all-female crew of rat warriors.
Pukeko has signed on with American music magazine-turned TV producer Heavy Metal to make an animated series based on Rat Queens, a graphic novel series, showbusiness magazine Variety reports.
Pukeko was founded in 2008 by Sir Richard Taylor, partner Tania Rodger and Martin Baynton.
Its biggest hits have probably been children’s TV series The WotWots and Jane and the Dragon.
Yesterday, Baynton said Rat Queens had been described as “dark, twisted and hilarious”. “We’re very excited about it.”
The series was aimed squarely at the adult market, he said.
Baynton and Adam Fratto, from Pukeko, will be executive producers of Rat Queens with Jeff Krelitz, David Boxenbaum and Rob Prior, from Heavy Metal, as co-executives.
A long-running magazine, Heavy Metal, has begun to diversify its activites after being bought by Boxenbaum and Krelitz, a film producer, in January.
Rat Queens is the creation of Vancouver-based author Kurtis Wiebe with art by illustrator Roc Upchurch.
A comic fantasy series, it was inspired by tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, as well as the wider fantasy genre.
It has been called “Lord of the Rings meets Bridesmaids”.
The comedy centres on the adventures of four characters: “rockabilly elven mage” Hannah, “hipster dwarven warrior” Violet, “atheist human cleric” Dee and “hippy halfling thief” Betty.
The four hunt monsters and deal with other adventurers in their home town, along with liberal amounts of bawdy drinking and other antics.
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– The Dominion Post
